These Days
by Dah Puzzle Masta
Summary: Years after the greatest Summer of Danville's life, all it's beloved children have left... Except for a certain Indian man. Baljeet finally gets his dream come true... Is it how he wanted it? Or will his heart be broken?


**Sorry to those who have been reading one of my other stories, reviewed one of them, or PMed me without an answer! I'll get to it ASAP but my computer is messing up right now and I can only post one thing up before it gets all crazy… So yeah, enjoy! This is my first one-shot!**

It was a dreary afternoon in Danville as a young Indian man pulled up into the parking lot of an apartment building. Listening to the same old song he always did. He got out of the old VW Bug and locked the door manually. Then he went up to the door of the building and walked in, went to the elevator, went to the fourth story, unlocked room 408 with a key card, and walked inside. It was a decent apartment, not too extravagant, not too cheep-looking. The young man walked over to a phone sitting next to a couch. A somewhat old fashioned phone, but just as usable as any other. He pressed a button on the base of the phone in order to check for any missed calls and voicemails. As he always did when he got back home from work. He never really got what he was always hoping for though.

"One voicemail" Said the mechanical voice built into the phone, the Indian man didn't move a muscle. He just stood there, holding the button and staring at the phone as he had the habit of doing.

"Hey, Baljeet." Said a rather high-pitched voice on the other end of the line. Baljeet gasped.

"Could it be?" He thought to himself. "No, it couldn't be… But it must be…" He continued to listen to the voicemail.

"It's… um… it's Isabella. I… um, am going to Danville for a week…" Baljeet couldn't believe it! "On business…" Baljeet was admittedly disappointed, but shook it off before the message continued. "I… just wanted to let you know, I mean… I might not see you at all while I'm there, but if you should happen to run into me… I just wanted to warn you, k? All righty then… Bye." Baljeet heard a loud beep coming from the phone.

"No more messages." The mechanical voice said. Baljeet let go of the button. He simply couldn't process just what was going on. After a while of just standing there, he picked up the phone and dialed a number. He stood there for a minute, waiting patiently for the person he had called to pick up. He soon after heard the familiar voice of a young man.

"Hello? Who's this?" He heard the man say.

"Hello, Phineas." Baljeet said in his usual Indian accent.

"Baljeet?"

"Yes, Phineas, it is your old friend, Baljeet."

"Wow, it's been so long! How are you?"

"Just fine, Phineas. Listen, I need to ask you something!"

"… Um, sure Baljeet! What do you need to know?"

"Well, Isabella is coming to Danville! ISABELLA! And I need your advice… on… well… How I might be able to get her back." There was a torturous moment of silence before Phineas finally answered.

"Baljeet, didn't you know? After collage, Isabella ran off to Vegas and married a rodeo cowboy…" Phineas received no reply, but the loud sound of a thump. He immediately guessed what had happened, but decided to ask first. "Hey, hey Baljeet are you ok?" Nothing. "BALJEET!" He yelled into the phone… Nothing. There Baljeet was, on the floor, with no one to help him. But, luckily, the cleaning lady had heard the same thump on the ground that Phineas had. She went over to the room and took the liberty to use her all-room key card in order to enter the room. She gasped as she saw Baljeet on the floor, but calmed down once she heard his heavy breathing. Taking a deep breath herself, she picked up the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Oh, thank goodness! I was getting worried! I'm Phineas Flynn, I'm a friend of Baljeet's. And might I ask who you are?"

"I'm the cleaning lady at Baljeet's apartment building. I heard a thump while cleaning out this floor of the building and decided to check it out. I'm glad I did, now that I see… this." No need to worry about him though, Sonny, he's breathing just fine!" Phineas sighed with relief.

"Well, I've gotta get going now, do you need any help with Baljeet? My wife's here and she's a nurse, so she could walk you through first aid quickly if you need it."

"No, no Sonny, I've been through this plenty of times before! I should be fine!" Phineas wasn't sure what to make of that, but didn't think twice.

"Alright then, bye."

"Goodbye, Sonny boy!" She hung up the phone at that, and continued to wake Baljeet up with the bucket of water on the cleaning cart she had to drag around all the time.

…

The next morning Baljeet woke up with a tear in his eye. This wasn't because of the day before's discovery, as one might have guessed, but the natural way he woke up. Always wishing the dream where Isabella was still in his life was a reality…

"Where are Phineas and Ferb's old machines when you need them?" He asked himself. He then got up and got ready for work. After that, he went outside and got into his car, putting the same old song on again, and went over to his job. When he got back from work, he was just about to check the phone the same way he had the day before, but then heard a series of loud noises coming from outside his bedroom window. He ran over to the window and looked out at the usually empty road out to the back of the building, now infested with what looked like a Texan traveling circus, (which I guess it technically was) but was really a traveling rodeo. Baljeet sighed as he saw the many vehicles park and people started to come out.

"Yup, she came for business all right..." Just as Baljeet had said that, he saw a black-haired young woman come out of one of the cars, being helped down by a man in a cowboy outfit. "Just about the only business that does not bring you sorrow…" Baljeet didn't know what in the world he was talking about, he was just moping and babbling on, and with good cause. He turned away from the scene, seeing Isabella after all those years, married to a rodeo cowboy of all people, was just too hard for him to bear. He went straight to bed, though it was still the afternoon, and the next day proceeded to do what he normally did, managing to ignore the many noises of the rodeo setting up for the rest of the week.

…

A week had passed since then. If what Isabella had said in her voicemail were true, she would be leaving today. Baljeet was always typically miserable. But this week he had been even more miserable. His co-workers often asked what was wrong, but never got an answer. Baljeet got out of the office building wearing his usual white shirt, red tie, black pants, and brown shoes, and went once more over to his blue car. He sat in the car pulled out his keys, he stuck one of them into the car and turned it. The car had broken down on him, it refused to turn on. Baljeet growled in frustration.

"This is the last thing I need!" He yelled. He proceeded to call a repairman… "TWO DAYS?! Oh, never mind!" He hung up on the repairman, that was actually the shortest wait offered him in the two whole hours of calling different guys. He simply called the tow truck man, left a note with his address on the window of the car, and went on walking home. Detours came, and he eventually ending up getting to his building from the back. He hung his head as he walked through the now packed rodeo full of new and even some familiar faces. Most of them were new though since Danville had become quite the small town over the years. He then heard a voice from next to him… One he had hoped to hear for years but now dreaded hearing.

"Whatcha doin'?" Baljeet turned around to see Isabella, live and in the flesh.

"Hello, Izzy, I did not expect to see you before you left." He put on a fake smile… For her.

"Me neither! But I'm glad I caught you!"

"No you are not." Baljeet thought, but what really come out was: "Me too!"

"So, why are you here at the rodeo?"

"My car broke down, and I needed to get home walking, meaning coming in through the back. I live in this building, you know!" Baljeet pointed towards where the window from his room was, testing to see if he could do it without paying attention.

"Oh, ok!"

"Wow, Izzy, I could barely recognize you!" Isabella giggled. "Your hair got so long! I love it, I really do!" Isabella's grin grew wider.

"I like your beard!"

"Thank you! So, have you checked out the bands like we used to back in collage?" Isabella shook her head.

"No, I haven't, but I have heard the song we danced to at prom every morning for some reason…" Baljeet blushed, that was him, he had to remember to roll up the windows more often.

"So, how has life been?"

"It's been good! But you know, life really does tend to throw you curves!" Baljeet frowned inwardly, she had learned to swerve around the curves. While he was stuck trying and failing at it. While she was living her life he was sitting at home, every single day, reminiscing, dreaming old dreams and wishing old wishes, for example the one where she would be back again.

"Someone told me about you going to Las Vegas after collage, and marrying a rodeo cowboy… I'm guessing that is true?" Isabella nodded and pointed over at a the man Baljeet had noticed earlier in the week. "I don't mean to be rude, but that is not like the girl I knew…" Isabella just stood there, not expecting a comment like that from Baljeet.

"So, where have you been, Baljeet?" She asked her former boyfriend awkwardly.

"Oh, I have been to a few places, mostly here and there, once or twice. I guess I am still sorting out life. But I am doing just fine… It is really good to see you, Izzy!" Isabella smiled again.

"It's good to see you too, Baljeet! So, what exactly have you been doing these days?" Then Isabella's husband walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"We're almost late for our plane ride to Hawaii!"

"Oh, my!" Isabella shrieked. Baljeet just barely managed to keep a tear from running down his cheek.

"Those planes," He said. "they do not wait! Goodbye, Isabella! And remember, if you come by this sleepy old town again, be sure to come and see an old friend, alright?" Isabella nodded.

"Goodbye, Baljeet!" Isabella's husband tipped his hat at Baljeet, who stood there as the two walked away. He went inside the building, went up to his room, lay down in his bed, and cried. And as he cried, he thought of the answer to Isabella's question…

Here are the lyrics to "These Days" by the Rascal Flatts! The song this story is based on! I hope you've enjoyed!

Hey baby, is that you?  
Wow, your hair got so long  
Yeah, yeah, I love it, I really do  
'Norma Jean', ain't that the song  
We'd sing in the car  
Drivin' downtown, top down  
Making the rounds  
Checking out the bands on Doheeney Avenue

Yeah, life throws you curves  
But you learned to swerve  
Me I swung and I missed  
And the next thing ya know  
I'm reminiscin' dreaming old dreams  
Wishing on wishes  
Like you would be back again

I wake up and tear drops  
They fall down like rain  
I put on that old song we danced to and then  
I head off to my job  
Guess not much has changed

Punch the clock  
Head for home  
Check the phone, just incase  
Go to bed  
Dream of you  
That's what I'm doing these days

Someone told me after college  
You ran off to Vegas  
You married a rodeo cowboy  
Wow, that ain't the girl I knew  
Me I've been a few places  
Mostly here and there once or twice  
Still sortin' out life, but I'm doing alright  
Yeah, it's good to see you too

Hey girl, you're late  
And those planes, they don't wait  
But if you ever come back around  
To this sleepy old town  
Promise you'll stop in  
To see an old friend  
And until then...

I wake up and tear drops  
They fall down like rain  
I put on that old song we danced to and then  
I head off to my job  
Guess not much has changed

Punch the clock  
Head for home  
Check the phone, just incase  
Go to bed  
Dream of you  
That's what I'm doing these

I wake up and tear drops  
They fall down like rain  
I put on that old song we danced to and then

I wake up and tear drops  
They fall down like rain  
I put on that old song we danced to and then

I wake up and tear drops  
They fall down like rain  
I put on that old song we danced to and then...


End file.
